The proposed 2024 budget for the town of Lookout Mountain, Tn. was passed on the first reading at the April commission meeting. Mayor Walker Jones said that 25 percent of the town’s budget used to come from the Hall tax. Without that, the main source of revenue is from property tax. Knowing that the state tax was ending, a transition was planned, by raising property taxes in incremental steps for the past few years. This year the tax rate will increase from 2.02 per every $100 of assessed value, to 2.15, which is a six percent increase. Most of the money from the rise in taxes will go to personnel related expenses including a three percent pay raise for employees and associated benefits. The budget also includes the cost of training for four new police officers.
Mayor Jones said that revenues are hard to find now. The town has always received a portion of ticket sales from the Incline that were sold at the top station. Now tickets are only being sold at the bottom station. That also has affected the income from the parking kiosks around the Incline and Point Park. At this time last year, he said, $10,000 had been collected from parking. This year that amount is $6,500, primarily because people are parking for the Incline in St. Elmo where the tickets are sold. For the last couple years, there also have been no sales taxes from Café on the Corner. The town will welcome another restaurant that will be opening at the location.
Lookout Mountain is in the process of writing an ordinance that will add a disembarking fee to Incline tickets. Town Attorney Brian Smith has been in touch with an official at CARTA who would like to have input in the ordinance. While Attorney Smith is waiting to hear back, he will move forward and create the ordinance that will benefit the town.
The fire department received the new fire engine last month. It works and drives differently than the old ones, said Chief Duane Schermerhorn and the firefighters are being trained on it now. He said it provides a much higher level of safety for the firefighters.
The chief attended hazardous materials handling classes at the center for domestic preparedness.in Anniston, Ala. He said the level of training in the classes is extensive and he plans to send all officers there in the coming year. The hazmat certifications they will get will increase their ability to prevent contamination of the environment. The procedure now is to wait for Hamilton County to manage any hazardous materials if there is ever an incident such as a diesel fuel spill on the mountain. The training is provided by the federal government at no charge to the town.
The old fire truck will be sold and Commissioner of Fire and Police Jim Bentley received approval to declare some equipment that has been taken off the truck as surplus. The equipment will be donated to the volunteer fire department in Marion County.
Night Out for Lookout, the fundraiser to benefit Lookout Mountain Elementary, was a success, said Commissioner of Education Karen Leavengood. She said that co-chairs Kakhi Wakefield and Morgan Everett organized it. The end of the school year is approaching and the year-end events are beginning. T-Cap testing, the standardized testing by the state, begins on April 17 and will take place over the next two weeks. Rising kindergartners will be able to tour the school and meet the teachers at the Open House on May 4 from 8:45-9:45. May 19 is Field Day, May 22 Awards Day and May 23 is fifth grade graduation.
The community is invited to an event honoring Ruth White who will be retiring this year. She has been at LMS for 24 years and has been the principal since 2010. The program will begin in the auditorium and move to the front lawn where there will be refreshments. Commissioner Leavengood said the superintendent of Hamilton County Schools is in the process of identifying the next principal and is allowing the Lookout Mountain school board to participate in the selection in a non-binding capacity.
All the light poles at The Commons are being replaced after one of the 60-foot poles broke and fell during a storm. Commissioner of Parks and Playgrounds Joe Hailey said that they will not be replaced until fall, however the lights have been ordered and will be stored until they are installed to ensure availability when they are needed. Baseball season has started and games began this week.
Two lifts have been ordered for the public works department. The equipment will help lift cans into the garbage truck, said Commissioner of Public Works William Valadez. A new generator has also been ordered for the public works building. It will keep the heat on and the gas pumps working when bad weather causes power outages and the employees stay to keep the roads open. And brush piles will continue to accumulate but for now the public works department is caught up, said the commissioner.
Residents who came to the meeting brought questions about what is and is not allowed in the town. One question was if bicycles and electric scooters are allowed on the walking track. The ordinance says no bikes are allowed, said Commissioner Hailey, and suggested that the resident call police if she sees kids there on bikes or scooters. Although signs are up prohibiting bikes, Chief Schermerhorn said people just don’t read them. To fix a problem, he said the police have to know about it. If the police are notified, they will inform parents or call and talk to them. If police are called, said Commissioner Hailey, maybe word will get out and kids will stop riding on the track. It is not a big crime, but a quality of life issue, said the chief. The police are also recognizing that electric scooters and unregistered golf carts on the streets are a safety problem, said Chief Schermerhorn.
In response to a complaint, the chief said that fireworks are also prohibited in the town. They are not allowed out of a concern for safety. If this is encountered, the mayor suggested that residents call the police and let them handle the situation. The officer who is called will go talk to the parents.
Mayor Jones said the rehabilitation to the water towers has been delayed and now the project is expected to be started in mid-May. The towers will be worked on one at a time from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. They will be sandblasted inside and out and Tennessee American Water warns that it will be noisy during that phase of the work. They will be repainted in a matte finished white paint. Equipment such as antennas will be taken off the towers during the work and the water company says water and phone service will not be disrupted. The project is expected to continue through the end of the year and into early 2024.